322 THE COMMON COLICS OF THE HORSE 



cases of the latter do occasionally turn up, we should be 

 able to distinguish between these and cases of twist. 

 The whole thing becomes quite simple if we always 

 remember that the changes occurring in the bowel wall 

 in enteritis are very comparable to those we meet with 

 in a case of intestinal anthrax. In other words, it looks 

 as though the affection were a rapid invasion of the 

 lacteals and blood-stream by some germ or other as yet 

 undemonstrated. Bearing this in mind, we expect, and 

 actually find, the morbid changes in the bowel practi- 

 cally confined to the mucous lining. The muscular coat 

 and the peritoneal are certainly affected also, but only 

 secondarily, and only in very minor degree. The 

 mucous membrane we find enormously thickened, from 

 a half to three-quarters of an inch beyond the normal, 

 and its colour anything from a bright scarlet to dark 

 purple, or nearly black. The colour of the peritoneal 

 coat we find practically unaltered. 



Compare this with the changes seen in the bowel wall 

 due to strangulation from twist. Here the entire cutting 

 off of the blood-supply brings on a rapid gangrene. Just 

 as severely as this affects the mucous and muscular coats, 

 so also does it affect the peritoneal, and the peritoneum 

 in this instance takes on a deep redj purple, or nearly 

 black discoloration. 



Put into a few words, the changes produced by twist 

 are seen from the external surface of the bowel — those of 

 enteritis only on the internal, and consequently are un- 

 observed until the bowel itself is opened. 



In laying stress upon this point MajorGeneral Smith 

 says : ' ' Enteritis produces no change of marked im- 

 portance in either muscular or peritoneal tunics, but it 



1 These remarks are again taken from the Proceedings of the Fifth 

 General Meeting of the National Veterinary Association. 



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